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The American society is split into three different groups. There is the upper class, middle class and lower class. While the definition of upper and lower class are fairly straight forward the exact definition of middle class is not as crystal clear.
Middle class has always been a mysterious category that has ever-changing boundaries. These changing boundaries make it hard for experts to give a clear cut definition to the term middle class.
While it might be hard to give an exact definition to middle class, here’s a look at how experts are defining middle class.
The Economist Definition of Middle Class
Middle class is essentially the group of American citizens who earn an income that falls in the middle of the spectrum. Economists believe that there are two ways to determine the middle class. Middle class can be 20% of the population that either has higher than the lower class and lower than the upper class, or it can be the middle 60% of the population.
The Amount of People Who Think They are Middle Class
In a recent survey the number of American people who classified themselves as middle class was shocking. Over 80% of the people surveyed believed they were middle class, with only 20% citing they thought they were upper class. This just goes to show how wide the definition of middle class can be.
Middle class is a tough economic term to describe. The broad definition and ever-changing economic situation makes it hard for economists to give a clear definition of middle class.
